The Southbank Centre VERY TL:DR Mat loves the Southbank Centre in London. The Southbank Centre is a complex of arts spaces housed on the south bank of the river Thames in London. Built in forward thinking Britain of the late 40s and early 50s. It is a prime example of Brutalist architecture in post war Britain, with futuristic design throughout, now preserved. It consists of 3 concert halls, an art gallery, the National Theatre and the British Film Institute. During the 1980s Brutalist architecture was seen as ugly; concrete might have well been dog shit as a building material, and sites such as the Southbank Centre and Barbican became apparent no go areas, with their grey, labyrinthine designs. Philistineism crept in, and these places declined. Here now is a story, of upstairs and downstairs. In what would later become known as the "undercroft" at street level of the centre, was an open space, a space with banked walls and flat, undercover surfaces that became a dry haven for both the homeless and skateboarders. It was literally a "cardboard city", there were people living in crudely constructed boxes. A shanty town beneath a cultural institution. At the same time skateboarding came alive. Southbank was a Mecca for kids, partly because it was dry, you can't really skate in the wet, but also it was where all the proper skaters were. In music terms it was the CBGB or Hacienda of the scene. Big US skaters started turning up on tours of Europe. My first experience of Southbank was on a trip there to skate and getting mugged (robbed). Went up there, 13, and got picked off before my train seat was cold. They were smart fuckers. Hid behind pillars and ambushed us. The lad at the front had someone step out from behind a pillar and got punched in the back of the head, the rest of the muggers appeared behind us. We all lost our skateboards (no phones or money back then). I had a shit board anyway. My parents felt bad for me so I got a spanking new setup out of sympathy (result). I spent most weekends in my teenage years skating at Southbank, I came in contact and made friends middle class people for the first time there. The undercroft community was a strange but harmonious mix of skateboarding kids and homeless men. We got to know a few characters and would chat occasionally, giving them any spare change we had (one year we discovered a loophole in McDonald's Monopoly™ based scratch card promotion. Because it was technically gambling you could go in and just ask for a card without making a purchase. The skaters and homeless ate McD's for free that summer) As time passed and public opinion of our Brutalist spaces changed the Southbank Centre was revived and revitalised. The homeless people were moved on (how or to where I don't know) and much of, but not all, the area used by skaters was boarded up and inaccessible. Gentrification transformed the area and chain restaurants in glass boxes popped up. I welcomed the revival of a beautiful arts complex, and have seen many great exhibitions and films there, but in my heart I am still a dweller of the undercroft. A few years ago it was announced that the undercroft was to be redeveloped into retail units. By way of compensation a small skatepark would be built elsewhere in the borough (away from the cultured visitors and tourists). A campaign was started by the skating community, Long Live Southbank, who raised funds to lobby the Arts Council. On Twitter I was dismayed to see Billy Bragg, the musician and socialist activist who I am a long time admirer of, promoting the demolition of the undercroft. It turned out he was a trustee of the centre. I took a potshot at him and he responded. We had a very civilised argument (a rarity on Twitter) but eventually agreed to disagree. His point was the ongoing funding of the Arts there, my point was that in the belly of the centre a genuine subculture formed organically and that should be celebrated and preserved. Actual culture grew there, it was a special space. The skateboarders won the argument and the centre reopened sections previously boarded up. No hard feelings Billy and respect to the Arts Council for seeing it's value to British culture. This was very long, congratulations if you made it to the end. This photo is my well worn Long Live Southbank t-shirt. The logo of which is based on the Brutalist design pillars that hold up the building in the undercroft.